


Mutually Assured Destruction

by VarjoRuusu



Category: Black Sails
Genre: Based on a concept on Tumblr, Hair Braiding, M/M, Mild Fluff, Pre-Relationship, hair shaving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-03
Updated: 2017-08-03
Packaged: 2018-12-10 20:42:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,501
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11699541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VarjoRuusu/pseuds/VarjoRuusu
Summary: Based on: Silver shaving Flint's hair and Flint braiding Silver's hair.Pretty much all it is.





	1. Chapter 1

“What the fuck are you doing?” Silver croaked and Flint turned just enough to see him watching wide eyed from the bench. His hand tightened around the knife he held as he turned away again. He’d thought Silver was asleep.

“None of your business,” he muttered harshly, tugging at another strand of hair in his face and sewing it off, letting the copper thread fall dully to the floor.

“Captain, you’re going to do yourself an injury,” Silver said, pushing himself up with difficulty. His leg was on its way to healing but movement was still hard most days. It would be another week at least before Howell even let him try the iron boot, so here he was, still stuck on the window bench in a cabin with Flint.

“What do you care,” Flint snapped, but without his normal bite. He sounded defeated. Broken.

“Howell told me what happened. I’m sorry about Mrs. Barlow,” Silver said quietly. He’d liked the woman well enough, even though he’s hardly met her. He’d seen she meant something important to Flint.

“Hamilton.”

“What?”

“Barlow was Miranda’s maiden name. Hamilton was her married name,” Flint said quietly.

“Oh,” Silver said, filing it away for later. “Come here, before you cut your scalp open.”

Flint turned his head, staring at Silver for a long moment before he nodded curtly. He took the bowl of water and the razor from the desk and handed them to Silver before he slumped to the floor, leaning back against the bench, his new quartermaster’s knees on either side of his head, utterly defeated.

“Why?” Silver asked quietly as he began to work, carefully starting at Flint’s temple and working back, shaving away the distinctive copper.

“You know I love books, that much is obvious,” Flint said quietly, eyes darting to the full bookshelf on the other side of the room. He hasn’t yet had a chance to start going through them, knowing they would be predominantly in Spanish and his was rusty. “I’ve learned a lot reading. It used to be…tradition. Superstition. Whatever you want to name it, that when a loved one died, someone close to you, you cut your hair as a sign of morning. So the gods could see how much it hurt. The Greeks especially.”

“Is that why?” Silver whispered, smoothing a hand over the newly shaved side of Flint’s head before he started on the other.

“For her. And for someone else who I should have…its been so long but I should have done it then,” he said quietly.

Silver nodded, not speaking again until he was finished. He ran his fingers over Flint’s bare scalp, checking for any long hairs he missed and Flint shuddered, tilting his head back just a fraction. Silver would never have noticed if his hands hadn’t been there. His eyes wide, he dug his fingers in a little, rubbing Flint’s scalp gently and the captain all but groaned, shoulders relaxing against the bench. Silver smiled, and continued moving his fingers slowly.

Just like with the razor, he started at the front and worked his way back, thumbs working along Flint’s skin and down the back of his neck until he was working the knots in the other man’s shoulders. To his surprise, Flint didn’t protest and when he finally ran out of knots to work free he squeezed the captain’s shoulders and then leaned back, letting his hands drop. Flint remained still for a minute before he sighed deeply.

“Thank you,” he said softly before he rose, taking the bowl and the razor with him and disappearing from the cabin.

Silver fell back on his pillows, carefully propping his leg up as he sighed, rubbing his eyes with one hand. That had been…interesting. Turning toward the window Silver forced himself to drift off to sleep. When Flint returned they didn’t speak of what had happened, nor did they speak of it when once a week Flint sat beside the bench and handed him the razor. Even after Silver became mobile again, in the silent evening Flint would find him. It was weeks before words acknowledged their strange routine again.


	2. Chapter 2

“Fuck,” Silver muttered, pushing yet another strand of hair out of his face.

“What is it?” Flint asked, turning slightly.

“I need to cut my fucking hair, it won’t stay out of my face,” Silver growled before he thought about it. When he realized the words had left his mouth he laughed and shook his head. “It’s entirely unimportant, captain,” he said instead, grinning. Flint returned the grin with a chuckle then considered him for a moment. 

“Do you want to cut it?” he asked, noting that Silver’s hair was indeed getting quite long. 

“Not particularly,” Silver said slowly. “I like it like this. Besides, one of us needs to have hair worth of a pirate king,” he muttered and Flint scowled, rolling his eyes. 

“You know why I cut my hair,” he muttered with annoyance and Silver nodded. 

“I know why you did, I just don’t know why you kept doing it…or having me do it. Whatever.”

“I…do you want my help or not?” Flint snapped and Silver shrugged, following the other man to the cabin. Flint nodded at him to sit on the edge of the bed while he went and retrieved a roll of twine and a knife before he came and sat, one leg tucked under him, one handing off the bed as he reached for Silver’s hair.

“What exactly are you doing?” Silver asked, trying to turn his eyes far enough to see what Flint was doing with his hair. 

“It’s called a braid,” Flint muttered. “Cretan,” was said low enough that Silver barely heard, but he did and chuckled anyway. His leg twinged and a hand dropped to his thigh, squeezing tightly as he bit his tongue. Flint’s eyes followed his hand and he huffed.

“Take that damned thing off,” he said as he ran his fingers through Silver’s hair, working out the tangles. 

“Captain,” Silver began only to have Flint shake his head.

“Now. It’s only the two of us. Let the damned wound breath.”

Silver sighed and slowly tugged his pants leg up, un strapping the boot and working it off. The wound looked alright but it was red and obviously swollen. Getting the boot back on was going to be painful. Though, given the fact that Flint had see the condition it was in, it was unlikely it was going to happen that day. 

“Stubborn idiot,” Flint said quietly and Silver rolled his eyes, looking away.

“We’ve discussed this,” he muttered. “The crew-”

“The crew don’t give a shit. Seeing you with a crutch isn’t going to make them any less loyal. They’re loyal for what’s up here,” he tapped Silver’s temple, “and what’s in here,” he pressed a hand over his heart. “Not because you do or don’t have two feet. 

“It’s bothers me, all right?” Silver grumbled and Flint sighed, nudging his chin so he turned his head a bit.

“I know it does, but don’t let it, please,” he said softly and Silver sighed. 

Silence fell as Flint continued to braid his hair back so that it wouldn’t fly in his face, switching sides and repeating the motions until enough of it was pulled back in long braids that not a strand would come near Silver’s face. 

“Thank you,” Silver muttered after a bit, staring at the braids. They were long enough that he could pull them under his nose and just see them and he signed, tugging on one slightly. 

“Now you’re going to let me clean that leg and then you’re going to get some god damned rest,” Flint muttered and Silver rolled his eyes, too exhausted to protest. He let Flint carefully clean his wound, not looking at it for fear he may very well throw up, the pain was so bad. He almost yanked his leg away when Flint began to rub away the knots in the muscle but he remembered doing the same to Flint and let it be. 

By the time Flint had finished, he was half asleep, leaning against the wall, and hardly noticed when Flint tugged his boot off and maneuvered him out of his jacket to lie on the bed. He blinked sleepily when Flint moved away, reaching out and catching his wrist. Flint stared at him for a long time, but didn’t say a word. Silver let go of his wrist and closed his eyes, sighing as he turned away, facing the wall of the cabin. He was just drifting off to sleep when he felt Flint lie down behind him, the entire length of his body pressing up against Silver’s back and an arm came to rest across his stomach.

They didn’t talk, they didn’t have words. Silver just smiled and twisted his finger’s through Flint’s and squeezed gently, smiling as he drifted off, Flint’s steady breathing anchoring him as he slept.

**Author's Note:**

> So let me know if y'all want me to make a chapter that involves porn, cus I might.
> 
> I’m on Tumblr [Beneath The Black Sails](http://www.beneaththeblacksails.tumblr.com)


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